3 Ways to Know You’re a Superstar Queue Manager

January 28, 2015Perry Kuklin

The queue plays an important role in the success of a business. Customer satisfaction, impulse sales, and the overall perception of the business are all directly tied to it. So, it’s no secret that it pays to have a superstar manager at the helm of the queue. Here are 3 ways to know if you're that kind of manager:

1. You aren't guessing.

You capture and use actionable data and forecasts to help you optimize service allocation and customer flow. Your queue is equipped with technology necessary to capture real time data, such as the number of people in the queue, average wait times, and more. This data is being transformed into dashboards you can access in the palm of your hands. And now, instead of guessing at how many service agents you need next week or wondering if today's customers are going to suffer extremely long waits, you're ahead of the curve. You know what to expect and are prepared for the crowds, or lack thereof, on any given day.

2. Your customers know what to expect.

You never leave customer expectations to chance. For example, when it comes to wait times, you don’t let waiting customers estimate the wait. Instead, you tell them how long they will be waiting before they set foot in the queue. You utilize queue monitoring technology to calculate and present your customers with very accurate wait time predictions.

Publishing estimated wait times in the queue area not only keeps your customers in the know and eases any anticipation, it also helps balance your service load across numerous queueing locations. Customers are directed to the shortest lines without having to guess or worry about choosing the “wrong” line.

3. You get real-time alerts.

You know what has to go right for your queue to be successful. You track these important KPIs and you know when they are outside of an acceptable range. You collect this information on a timely basis via actionable, real-time alerts. These alerts keep you ahead of the “queuing game” by using text messages and/or emails to notify you immediately when there is a problem in the making. You therefore keep control of your queue by taking action now before wait times get too long or waiting customers start piling up beyond the queuing area. If you aren’t doing these three things, it may be time to reevaluate your queue management strategies. Remember that technology is your friend in queuing and real-time monitoring is key. What actions will you take to achieve superstar queue manager status this year?